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CUNA works to add CUs to Dodd insurance bill

WASHINGTON (3/9/09)--Including credit union provisions in legislation introduced by the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee to increase the borrowing authority for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is being advocated by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA). “When the news broke Thursday, our staff immediately contacted the office of Chairman Chris Dodd to ask if the legislation would contain similar language for NCUA,” said CUNA Presiden/CEO Dan Mica. “We pointed out specifically that the House is poised to pass such language.” On Thursday, Dodd (D-Conn.) introduced a bill (S.541) to increase the FDIC borrowing authority from $30 billion to $100 billion, with additional authority to increase the borrowing authority to as much as $500 billion with the concurrence of Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board. The additional authority to $500 billion would only be available until the end of 2010. Mica said that, after discussions between CUNA and NCUA, the agency sent a formal communication to Dodd requesting additional borrowing authority for itself along the lines of that proposed for FDIC. “We will continue to discuss this legislation with Chairman Dodd’s staff in the hopes of having the bill amended to include credit unions during Senate consideration,” Mica said. “We are also reaching out to our allies in the House to ensure that, in the event that this legislation were to pass the Senate without including credit union provisions, those portions would be included during House consideration.”